One month has passed, and no one heard about Kibum. Jonghyun was about to ask Minho if he had some news, but Onew didn’t let him because Minho was awkwardly pretending not think about it, even being too obvious that he did. Taemin was the only one who tried to talk about it, even not getting any concrete answer. The younger boy was worried about his friend so he decided to visit his house. He called Kai asking if they could meet and, when the other said yes, he grabbed a backpack and went to the bus station.

When he finally arrived and got out of the bus, he looked around, trying to remember the way he should take. The street was quiet as always and he started to walk formulating the conversation on his mind. Probably Kibum would just send him away without letting him get in the house. But, at least, Taemin would know that he was okay and he could go home calmer.

He was lost in his thoughts when something caught his attention. He heard a sound and, suddenly, he was against a wall with his head hurting.

“You again?” Yongguk asked, pulling the hair of the youngest. “How brave!”

“Let me go!” Taemin said, trying to move away. “What do you want?”

“We just want to have fun.” Daehyun said before punching him in the stomach. “The day was being boring. Totally annoying. I’m actually glad that you came.”

“Leave me alone, I haven’t done anything to you, I’m here to meet my friend.” Taemin tried to say, receiving another punch, this time in the face.

“Sorry, but Jongup doesn’t like boys prettier than him.” Yongguk said, smiling. “I warned Key the last time we met. I thought that he had understood the message.”

Taemin just grunted unable to form a sentence.

“Why don’t you answer to your hyung?” Jongup asked when Taemin didn’t say anything, hitting him in the stomach once again, making him fall to the ground. “Why don’t you get up?”

“Go away, please.”

Taemin asked, coughing and seeing blood on the hand he carried to the mouth.

“This isn’t funny anymore.” Yongguk said, dropping the other’s hair. “I hope I don’t see you here again. Himchan, just finish it and let’s go.”

Himchan looked at Taemin lying on the floor and kicked him once again, this time, with a little more force. Then, the four of them turned away, laughing, leaving Taemin alone on the floor.

The young boy stayed on the floor, not even having the strength to stand up. All he could feel was pain and he could barely focus in his surroundings. It felt like hours passed until someone found him.

“Taeminnie!” Kai yelled, running to him and pulling him closer. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”

“Are you okay?” A woman’s voice asked. “We better take him to the hospital, he doesn’t look good and there’s blood on his clothes and his mouth.”

“Yeah, Luna, please call an ambulance!” Kai said, turning to Taemin. “Tell me what happened to you! You took so much time. I was worried so I came with Luna noona and was about to call you when I saw you here.”

“Sorry.” Taemin managed to say. “They were so many! I didn’t see them coming.”

“Ok, calm down. We’re taking you to the hospital, don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

“I need to call my friends, they’ll be worried. “

“Give me your phone, I’ll call them. Who do you want me to call?”

“Onew-hyung.”

Luna came near to them, saying the ambulance was on its way. Kai asked her to stay with Taemin so he could make a call and stepped back a bit looking for Onew’s number.

After a while, Taemin, Kai and Luna were on their way to the hospital. When they arrived, Onew was already there, walking around with a worried look. Luna started to explain to Onew what happen while Kai called Key.

“I’m glad you came!” Kai said, bowing to Onew. “I was about to freak out! Look at what they did with Taemin!”

“Jonghyun and Minho are coming too.” Onew said, bowing too. “I can’t believe that that happened! Why didn’t he tell me that… It doesn’t matter. Who did this?”

“I WILL KILL YONGGUK! FOR SURE!” Key yelled, entering in the hospital, looking around. “Where’s Taemin? Where is he?”

Onew looked at the blond and could almost feel the angry aura around him. Kai was the first one to approach him without really realizing how nervous the other was.

“Umma, keep your voice low, we’re on the hospital.”

“I don’t care! I need to see Taemin now!” He demanded, seeing Onew and running to him. “Hyung! Where is he? Is he okay? What have the doctors said?”

“Kibum, calm down.”

“How can I calm down?” He raised his voice again, feeling tears starting to form on his eyes. “That stubborn boy, I told him to not go after me anymore! What was he thinking? I’m going to kill him after he’s okay.”

“That isn’t really assuring.”

Kibum let himself fall on a chair and closed his eyes: “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have talked to him that day. I just gave him hope and then I-“ He gasped when he felt Jinki’s arms around him, pulling his body towards the other. “Hyung… W-what are you doing?”

“Trying to calm you down.” The older one said still embracing him. “Seems like it worked. Like always.”

“Don’t think so high of yourself, I was just caught out of guard.” Key sighed, trying to pull back. “Can you let me go now?”

“Not until you’re calmer.”

“I’m fine now, hyung.“ He rolled his eyes, pushing Jinki away from him. “I just-”

“ONEW!”

“HYUNG!”

Onew, seeming a little startled, looked back, finding Jonghyun and Minho running to him. Before he could even speak, they were already shoving him with questions about what happened and about Taemin. He tried to speak but his voice wasn’t heard above all the commotion the other two were doing.

“Will you shut up?” Kibum shouted above their voices, making them stay quiet. “Hyung is trying to talk.”

“What are you doing here?” Jonghyun snapped, not being able to control his emotion. He was still mad at Kibum and that was a feeling he thought that wasn’t going to fade anytime soon. “Taemin doesn’t need you. This was all your fault, wasn’t it?”

“Jjongie…” Onew tried, grabbing his lover’s arm. “Be quiet.”

“No! He doesn’t have any right to be here!”

By that time, also Minho was trying to stop the smaller one just as Kai and Luna approached them, wanting to know what was going on.

“Shut up, Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun scoffed and look at the blond: “Or what? You’re going to punch me again?”

“I will if I have to!”

“I would like to see you try.”

“You would?” Kibum smiled, ironically. “Then maybe-”

“Guys, quit it!” Onew demanded, making them both look at him. “Kibum, go get some fresh air. And you, Jonghyun, sit on that chair.  Now!”

Reluctantly, Jonghyun blew air furiously through his nose and turned his back on the other, doing what Jinki had told him to do, crossing his arms over his chest.  Once Onew was sure of this, he looked at Kibum who was still on the same place while Kai and Luna were staring at him worryingly.

“Kibum, are you deaf now? Didn’t I told you to go get some air?”

“I can’t leave Kai and Luna alone in here.”

Onew rolled his eyes at the lame excuse: “I’ll stay with them, you don’t have to worry. Minho is here too.” He said, pointing to the other. “So you can go.”

Kibum turned to the youngsters and opened his mouth but Kai was quicker than him: “You can go, umma, we’ll be fine with hyung. If there are any news, I’ll call you, you won’t be too far anyway.” 

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I am sure.” Kai rolled his eyes. “Now go, please, you’re too nervous.”

Kibum nodded, still a bit uneasy, but turned, starting to walk away from them. All of them followed his back until the blond couldn’t be seen anymore and Onew let out a tired sigh, letting his shoulders fall. He then looked at Jonghyun, who was still on the same chair and smiled, tenderly.               

“I’m going to talk to him.” He warned, pointing with his finger and prepared to go until he remembered something. “Minho, I think you should go after Kibum.”

“What? Me? I don’t think he-”

“Go, Minho.”

Minho sighed and nodded, taking Kibum’s path. He wasn’t even sure at where the blond had gone and he was positive that he wanted to be alone. That’s how he was. He never opened up to other people about his emotions and feelings. Or that was how Minho reminded him. Obviously he was different now. Nevertheless, he kept looking for him until he found Kibum on the hospital’s balcony sitting on the floor, with his head between his hands.

 “Kibum?”

Said boy didn’t even bother to look up because he would recognize that voice everywhere: “What are you doing here?”

“I was just trying to see if you were alright.”

“I am, you can leave now.”

Minho lifted his eyebrow and leaned against the wall just across Kibum: “I’m not leaving you here alone”

“I want to be alone.” Finally, he looked up, meeting the other’s eyes. “I don’t wanna talk and I certainly don’t want you here.”

“Too bad, because I want to be here.”

He seemed surprised: “You never talked back to me before!”

“Things change. It’s not my fault if you weren’t there to see it.”

Kibum laughed bitterly and stood up: “You’re all going to throw that to my face every time we talk?”

“Well, it’s true isn’t it?”

“God!” Kibum suddenly yelled, face turning visibly red with anger. “You want to know why I left? You still want to now?” With every question he took a step to Minho. “I’ll tell you!”

Minho was just leaning against the wall, like he had been from the start, with his eyes wider than usual watching as Kibum kept closing the distance between them when unexpectedly he landed a hand in his chest. He did it with such kindness kind of opposite to his behavior at the moment that it actually distracted Minho from the closeness of their bodies and, before he knew it, Kibum’s lips were on his.

Just as quickly as Kibum kissed him, he also pulled back while Minho’s mind was blank and he was having difficulties of making a decent thought. He followed as the other took another step back and sighed, refusing to look up.

“This was why I left. I was in love with you, I…” He said with is voice cracking in the middle. “You know how hard is for people to accept this kind of love. Those teammates of yours, those you called your friends.” He remarked, still looking at the ground. “Somehow, they knew and they weren’t exactly nice to me. Remember those bruises I had sometimes?”

“Yes, I do. But…”

“Well, it wasn’t because I fell or because I crashed into something. I was never the clumsy one of our group, as you know, however you guys didn’t seem to notice this.” He sighed, loudly this time, with a sad smile. ”They also threatened me. If I told you what was going on, you would be out of the team and I couldn’t do that to you.”

Minho, who was still a little shaken from all the events, regained his voice: “Kibum… What… You were so much more important than the team, how could you hide something like that from me?”

“You were so happy when you were accepted that I couldn’t possibly take that away from you.”

“You should have told me! I mean, we would work it out!” Minho took a step forward and grabbed Kibum by his arms. “I would have protected you. You know I would!”

The blond was a little startled by the sudden contact and blinked a few times before speak: “You would but-”

He was prevented from talk when he felt Minho’s arms around him, keeping him close in a hug. Kibum’s breath was a little unstable and his heart was beating so hard that he was afraid that Minho could feel it. He probably could since their bodies were pressed to each other and he could feel Minho’s own heartbeat which was even harder than his.

“I’m sorry, Kibum.” He whispered, hot breath against the smaller’s neck. “I’m so sorry for not realizing what was going on, I was such an awful friend.”

“No. No, don’t say that.” Kibum shook his head and pulled back a little to be able to look Minho in the eyes. “I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty, I just…” He pulled back completely breaking their body contact and groaned. “Forget it, I shouldn’t have told you anything. Let’s go back.”

Minho shook his head repeatedly as the blond turned his back on him and started to go back. Once Kibum disappeared around the corner, he ran after him and spun him around.

“How can I forget this?  You… you just kissed me and confessed and then you told me all this things. Tell me, Kibum… Tell me how am I supposed to forget it?”

“It’s in the past, Minho, just let it go. Please.” He begged, looking tired. “There’s nothing more we can do about it right now. We should be worrying about Taemin.”

Minho started at him for a long period of time before nodding a few times and slowly released his grip on the other’s arm, which earned him a thankful look. He watched as Kibum turned around again, this time slower, eyeing him over his shoulder before starting to walk. As he just stood there while his childhood friend kept moving further away from him, he promised to himself that he wouldn’t forget the matter so easily and he would do anything to have Kim Kibum back to their lives.

Another chapter! And sooner than expected :)

Now you know why Kibum left!